The blundering cops who shoot, choke and taser … themselves

An embarrassing database of mishaps and accidents has revealed our bobbies have more in common with the Keystone Cops than The Sweeney.

One hapless officer who found his path from a shopping centre “blocked by a vehicle” skirted round it on “wet gravel” and slipped, injuring himself after he landed “heavily on his arm”.

In another incident, an officer demonstrating a choke hold at the Jackton training centre near East Kilbride was injured when the “technique was demonstrated more dynamically than would have been expected”.

The log also reveals how a woman officer fractured her wrist after riding her bike into a pothole and tumbling to the ground. Another cop was injured after falling in a police station car park.

According to the data collected over the past 12 months, Police Scotland officers have been hurt in a host of scenarios that have forced red-faced top brass to introduce policy changes and retraining.

Alarmingly, three of the incidents involved accidental discharging of weapons.

One force insider said the public will “rightly question” exactly what the blundering boys in blue are up to.

“Taken on the whole, the catalogue of incidents don’t really inspire confidence,” the force insider said. “Dozy officers slipping and accidentally throttling each other isn’t what the public wants to hear.

“I know there are always going to be accidents at work especially as the job is inherently dangerous. But I do worry and fear that the overall standard of cadets coming through training isn’t as high as it was in my day.”

In documents obtained by The Sunday Post, it’s revealed an elite officer, training at Barry Buddon Firing Range in Angus, fired his gun by mistake while being asked to prove there were no bullets left in it. Miraculously nobody was seriously injured.

The gun fired a bullet into a concrete wall dislodging debris resulting a minor injury. A review of what happened was carried out after it was labelled “dangerous occurrence”.

A second incident happened in a police office while an examination of a home-made firearm was taking place. The device fired resulting “in a projectile lodging in a wall”.

A full-scale probe was also launched after a safety officer was injured when he shot himself with a Taser. Having reviewed all the statements and evidence, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner said the incident could have been prevented.

Officers were also ordered to stop using the Taser’s holster, which it’s thought could have moved the safety catch from the “off” position. The injured policeman had to be taken to hospital for treatment when small darts from the device which discharge an incapacitating electric shock, lodged in his finger.

One health and safety expert said he believed the amalgamation of Scotland’s eight forces in 2013 could be behind the incidents.

He said: “It’s no secret there’s been a significant reduction in civilian staff. I would suspect those involved in health and safety, training and assessment, were not immune from that. The nature of policing means high standards of health and safety are paramount.”

The Health and Safety Dashboard, which is put out monthly, details accidents and injuries suffered by all staff while at work. The exercise is carried out to ensure the causes of accidents are closely monitored, and for any problematic trends to be addressed.

A spokesman for the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) said the safety dashboard is discussed monthly at both the SPA Board meeting and by human resources, “However, policing is very unpredictable and there will always be incidences out of the norm which might result in an unexpected outcome,” the spokesman said. “Maximising officer and staff safety remains a key priority for the SPA.”

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “We take the health and safety of our employees extremely seriously.”